Does Putin think he's James Bond?

Modern autocrats and despots are often film buffs. Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former officer of the KGB, the Soviet Union spy agency, may fancy himself a Russian James Bond, an action hero astride the world stage.

Putin bears some resemblance to Daniel Craig, the current incarnation of Bond. Publicity photos preceding the release of Casino Royale (2006) showed a shirtless Craig emerging from the ocean. Shortly thereafter, photos emerged of a shirtless Putin fishing in a river.

In the last few years, Putin has used many photo ops to show himself as a man of action: shooting a tiger with a tranquilizer dart, scuba diving at an archaeological site, climbing a wall at a summer youth camp, arm wrestling, riding a snowmobile, piloting a motorboat, descending to the bottom of a lake in a mini-sub, and flying a motorized hang glider.

All of this might seem harmless preening except that Putin likely feels he is free to copy another Bond trait: a license to kill. Furthermore, the synchronicity between Putin and Bond may convince the Russian leader that he is blessed by providence and will be successful in all his international “adventures.”

And, of course, Bond took on ***** Galore; Putin jailed ***** Riot.

 

Putin has more attention in your comment here than Bond does in this entire website.

Maybe you think he's James Bond?

 

Putinka exhibits all those "inferiority complex" like most Russkis do....you forgot that he wrestles tigers and wins.....has numerous degrees and PhDs, flies fighter jets, scores 8 goals per game in hockey.....can gotoe to toe with any ripped UFC fighter....rides Harleys(3 wheeled ones)....vatniks have trouble with bicycles on average, etc.

He needs to show average moskalis that hes an "alpha male".....makes the average russki feel cool and tough!!LOL.

 

James Bond is a cartoon.. he's an unrealistic marvel type character. Maybe you should just grow up

 

It looks more like a foreigners view of Putin. Inside Russia he is all over the news with speeches and meetings and other state activities. For instance he is now on the TV with his visit to Irkutsk Region, which suffers of floods and fires with dozens of people casualties and hundreds of those who lost houses and other property. Yesterday he made a speech on a conference devoted to ecological problems. As for his hobbies and shirtless photos they are not in center of Putin's image. Although it would be stupid for his image makers not to use it during the year. Few of Putin's competitors could afford the same.

I would rather regard this Bond view of Putin as a problem of the west, which propaganda is too shallow to provide the audience with a true understanding of what is happening in Russia and all over the world. BTW it's not only about Putin. Far too much news is spent for Trumps hair and Merkel's health problems and Makron's spouse etc. This doesn't give a glimpse of true understanding of world policy and tendencies, but it CREATES an alternative attitude of western people towards policy of other states.

By the moment Russia has already received the image of an aggressor who dares to intervene into conflicts next to its borders, intercept war planes of NATO which fly around its borders and even send its own war planes to the borders of the US. Besides, it dares to trade with its natural resources with EU and China. Which is also a kind of aggression. And of course there is a number of blames which have never been proven but exist in western propaganda as a given fact that Russia is aggressive and Putin is a freaking despot and tyrant.

Somewhat 10 years ago I came here trying to speak of this very situation as a threat. And noone belived me that it could be possible. Because it was quite obvious that Russia was too weak and the westerners thought that their free media makes them the smartest and the most informed people in the world. Well... At the moment you come up with ideas that all the problems come of the resemblance of Putin with mr. Craig and some shirtless photos... Do you really need my comment about that?